Chicago Homes Selling In 48 Days, Faster Than National Average

Selling a home in the Chicago area requires less time than it did a year ago, according to the fall ERA National Real Estate Poll.

Once a home goes on the market, it sells in 48 days on average, the poll found. Chicago area homes are selling faster than the national average and faster than elsewhere in the central United States.

``That is a significant improvement over 1987,`` said Ed Gresham, president and chief executive officer of ERA Real Estate. ``Last year at this time, homeowners could expect to wait 63 days for a sale, roughly 2 weeks longer.``

This indicates a healthy residential real estate market in Chicago, Gresham said, and ``also suggests to us that the local economy as a whole may have improved since 1987.``

The average home in the U.S. now requires 85 days to sell, down from 100 days last year. In the 14-state central region, a typical home sells in 72 days, down from 89 days.

In every region except the East, homes are selling faster than they were a year ago, Gresham said. The longest wait is still to be found in the South, but there, too, the number of days on the market has declined by nearly a month, from 136 days last year to 108 days in 1988.

Conducted since 1983 by Strategic Research of St. Louis, the ERA National Real Estate Poll surveys more than 400 brokers from coast to coast, including members of the Real Estate Leaders of America and state presidents of the National Association of Realtors.

Another interesting finding, Gresham said, is the relative speed with which higher-priced homes are selling-generally 17 days faster than medium-priced homes.

``We`re seeing faster turnover in homes costing above $100,000,`` Gresham said. ``It`s not just a matter of escalating home prices. Demographic factors are at work here, too.``

As they approach middle age, Baby Boomers are moving into higher income brackets, increasing the demand for larger, more comfortable homes, he said.

``The homes they are leaving behind are generally in the under $70,000 bracket. That means there is a more abundant supply of homes in low and medium price ranges, and correspondingly longer sell times in those markets,``

Gresham said.

In the Chicago area, the median price of a resale home is now $100,000, say brokers. The national median is $85,000.

The most affordable single-family housing is still to be found in the South, and the most expensive is in the metropolitan areas of the East and West coasts.

In New York and Los Angeles, for example, home buyers spend roughly 75 percent more for an average home than they do in Chicago.

ERA Real Estate, headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., has 2,200 offices in the United States.